


Hang In There

by Singing_Siren



Category: Leverage
Genre: Autistic Parker, Eliot Spencer's Cooking, F/M, M/M, Minor Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, hinted ot3, too many feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21527065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singing_Siren/pseuds/Singing_Siren
Summary: Parker liked small spaces. She liked the pressure that they brought, the quiet. When she was little, back when she was thieving with Archie, she would hide in the vents of his warehouse. The world was tiny there. It was like she could stay forever in the empty space above the city.Set before 5x01 and after it. Parker's having a hard time adjusting to the changes.
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	Hang In There

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I just have too many feelings about Parker, and I needed to get them out, so her you go!

Parker liked small spaces. She liked the pressure that they brought, the quiet. When she was little, back when she was thieving with Archie, she would hide in the vents of his warehouse. The world was tiny there. It was like she could stay forever in the empty space above the city.

The Brewpub took some time to get used to. Parker didn’t like change. Hardison helped to work her through it, but he didn’t understand her in the way she understood herself.

Their relationship took nobody by surprise, but they still stumbled through it like teenagers.

A week in, as Parker was hanging from the high ceiling, she blurted out, “Oh, Sophie says I should tell you that I’m asexual.”

He looked up at her with an expression she couldn’t read. “What?”

“When Sophie and I were talking about moving to Portland, she said that I need to tell you that I’m asexual because it’s something you’re supposed to know. I didn’t understand at the time, but now I think I get it. Should I have told you earlier?”

She lowered herself on the rope down to Hardison’s eye level, still upside down. She was frowning slightly. Hardison’s eyes softened, and he reached out to smooth the furrow between her eyebrows.

“I mean, you could have told me sooner, but I’m glad you told me anyways.” He kissed her forehead. “And hey, baby, I love you no matter what.”

The smile he got in response was blinding.

When the team reassembled, everything went to shit. They took care of the con without much fuss. 

As they sipped at Hardison’s horrible beer, Parker started to tap her foot, slowly picking up speed. Even though it was just the five of them, her mind was buzzing. Her senses prickled. The fabric of her shirt felt like sandpaper against her skin. Nate cleared his throat and raised his glass for a toast, and Parker winced. The clink of glass penetrated her skull. She dug her nails into her palm until it was the only thing she felt.

Someone touched her shoulder with an open hand. It was too gentle, but at the same time too rough. The hand jerked back. Parker shut her eyes tight against the light from above. The noise around her stopped.

The feeling of eyes on her, the itching up her spine, stopped.

Somehow, in the back of her mind, she knew that it was Hardison who fixed everything. She smiled slightly. When she was ready, she opened her eyes. Her breathing steadied slowly. The main room of the brewpub was empty, and she was beyond thankful for it. Her skin still felt like an exposed nerve, too sensitive. Her hearing was dialed up to eleven.

She climbed up to her safe place in the ceiling of the control room, ignoring the buzzing beneath her skin. Her headphones were tucked beneath the weighted blanket. Hardison had set up the vent for her when he bought the brewpub, knowing she would need it.

Hours later, when she could think without wanting to scream, she lowered herself back down on her rope. Her hands wound themselves in the bottom of her shirt. She hummed under her breath, a tune that had no particular melody.

Hardison greeted her with a bowl of cereal and a mimed kiss. He gestured to the hallway. Parker nodded. The team was settling into their rooms, and they would be a while. Parker had time.

She wasn’t used to having other people around. Since they split up, went their separate ways, only Hardison stayed by her side as a constant. It would take a bit of time for her to get used to the change. Already, the walls seemed closer together. The rooms were getting smaller in the worst way, not in the familiar closeness of the vents.

The next morning, only a handful of hours later, Parker awoke to the smell of bacon.

Eliot, an apron tied around his waist, didn’t look up as Parker walked into the kitchen. He pushed a plate in her direction. She hummed happily and took a bite of toast. She pushed the scrambled eggs to the far side of the plate, clearly stating her opinion about them.

“What, you don’t like eggs?” Eliot said, his gruff tone thicker in the early morning.

“The texture’s wrong,” she said with a mouth full of toast.

He scowled. The timer on the counter went off sharply. Parker tried to hold back her flinch, but the look Eliot gave her told her she wasn’t so successful. He dumped some bacon on her plate next to the eggs.

Hardison stumbled in next. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, tried to stifle a yawn. He settled into the chair next to Parker, who pushed herself to sit on the counter, legs dangling. She took her fork and moved her eggs to Hardison’s plate. Eliot’s scowl made her grin.

Even through his harsh exterior, Parker knew he wanted to be useful, to help, and maybe he wanted to be needed.

_ Wow _ , she thought as Hardison pulled out his phone,  _ I love these two idiots _ .

The idea wasn’t new, but it certainly took her off guard. She loved them, and they loved her back, in their own distinct ways.

She made a clicking sound with her tongue and wiggled her shoulders so her whole body swayed. She was happy. Then it occurred to her that she hadn’t been this free with Eliot before. Once she and Hardison had moved away, she found herself. She hadn’t needed to cover up her instincts, the want of others placed on her to be normal was gone. The last time Eliot had seen her, she hadn’t been this way, at peace with who she was.

It didn’t escape her notice that Eliot didn’t bat an eye at her new behavior.

Huh. Maybe change wasn’t all bad.

Eliot and Parker fell back into their old rhythm, an easy banter that always made Hardison chuckle and smile. He and Eliot had also returned to their ways. Eliot made fun of the stuff that Parker knew he actually loved about Hardison, and life was good.

Sophie was mostly the same. She had a new sense about her, one Parker was familiar with. She was comfortable with herself. She was alright with being  _ Sophie Devereaux _ only, not anyone else.

Nate. He was better, so much better. His drinking had gone down, both the intensity and frequency. She was proud of him.

The five of them worked together seamlessly to do what they did best; they provided the leverage much needed in the world, whatever that involved. 

And more than that: they were a family.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!


End file.
